CULTURE AND CURING IN PENNSYLVANIA. 



155 



command high figures, as the buyer sees at a glance the full character of the crop. The leaves are tied into what 

 are called "hands'', from ten to twelve being put into each. More attention is given each succeeding year in 

 tying up those hands curcfully, and the more neatly and systematically the work is done the more attractive the 

 hands look and the more salable they are. After the stripping has been finished, bulking comes next in order, for 

 which a platform is made- in the tobacco cellar about 4 feet or less in width and slightly raised from the ground, to 

 prevent mold and undue dampness. If bulked in warm weather, say in October or November, it is apt to undergo 

 the sweating process. This produces no bad results, but care must be taken that the bulks are not disturbed during 

 the sweat. If not bulked until cold weather has set in, the tobacco is not likely to sweat until the warm weather 

 of spring begins. 



TOBACCO-BAKNS. 



However well the soil of Lancaster county may be adapted to the growth of good tobacco, it may well be doubted 

 whether the product would ever have reached its present excellence except for the careful handling it receives after 

 being taken from the field. In the early days of tobacco culture in this county, while it was still regarded as an 

 irregular crop, little attention was given to proper buildings for its storage; in fact, few knew what was really 

 needed. After being cut, it was hung up wherever there was any room, any vacant place in the barn, the poultry- 



No. 1. 



house, and the garret, or unused rooms in the dwelling, being utilized for this purpose. But as the crop grew 

 in importance these make-shift conveniences were found to be totally inadequate, and common wooden sheds were 

 built, without any particular reference to anything except their capacity to house the crop. Ventilation was 

 very imperfectly understood, and was provided for by hanging some of the vertical boards of the building at 



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